Spirit Realm

Hu Yun felt as though he were full of bad luck.

Like Liu Qing and Fang He, he didn’t want to waste time speaking to Qin Lie. He wanted to leave early. However, seeing the displeasure clear on Qin Lie’s face, he thought it over for a moment and decided it would be in his best interests to stay.

Qin Lie’s current identity was that of a direct descendant of the main Xing Family line, one that Xing Shengnan cherished immensely. If Qin Lie had a loose mouth and ratted him out to Xing Shengnan, Hu Yun wouldn’t be able to avoid punishment.

Hu Yun, having come to a decision, sighed as he said, “Ask away, Young Master Lie.”

Qin Lie looked at Hu Yun, but didn’t immediately start asking questions. Instead, his brow furrowed slightly.

If Xue Li, Blood Fiend Sect, and Lang Xie’s group were to merge and appear in the Land of Chaos, they would be an extremely strong force.

That would especially be the case once Xue Li possessed the Blood Progenitor’s body. Based on how much he had relied on Xue Li’s experience and skills, Qin Lie was certain that Xue Li’s power would increase by leaps and bounds once he had the Blood Progenitor’s body.

Of course… the body of the Blood Progenitor had a myriad of spirit diagrams inscribed upon it. Qin Lie would be able to use them to secretly control it.

This meant that, even if Xue Li’s soul fused with it in the future, Qin Lie would still be able to bind him. This would then allow him to hold great influence over Blood Fiend Sect and force it to carry out his own agenda.

However, even before all of that, he and Blood Fiend Sect needed to gather enough power and people.

To that end, Gold Sun Island was a great place to start.

Qin Lie planned to take over Gold Sun Island and make the Xing Family return to Blood Fiend Sect’s control. In order to do that, he first needed to learn more about the Xing Family clansmen. Only after understanding the circumstances of the Xing Family and its members would he be able to determine its strength and adjust his plans accordingly.

To him, Hu Yun was a way to learn more about the Xing Family.

A series of thoughts ran through Qin Lie’s mind as he formulated a plan. He casually smiled at Hu Yun, glancing at everyone nearby in a restless manner. Then, he took out two soul crystals and handed them to Hu Yun.

“Although I am a member of the Xing Family, I have only just arrived and thus have no understanding of the Xing Family’s circumstances,” he said. “I presume that Mister Hu has lived on Gold Sun Island for several years. I ask that you answer my questions and enlighten me.”

Seeing the two clear, dazzling crystals in front of him exuding a faint aura of soul energy, Hu Yun’s lips trembled.

“Are… are those soul crystals?” he asked hesitantly.

Qin Lie smiled and nodded.

Without warning, Hu Yun’s eyes shone with shocking light as his hand shot out, snatching the two soul crystals from Qin Lie.

He immediately closed his eyes, trying to absorb the pure soul energy from one of the crystals in his hand with his True Soul.

Qin Lie chuckled.

Three seconds later, Hu Yun’s entire body shook as he immediately stored the two soul crystals into his spatial ring, subconsciously looking around him. Discovering that no one in the area was paying attention to him, his entire body relaxed, and a smile emerged on his face. “Young Master Lie, please ask whatever you want. If I know the answer, I will hold nothing back!”

For martial practitioners in the process of condensing their True Souls, soul crystals were the scarcest kind of soul energy enhancer. Soul crystals were countless times more precious than spirit stones.

Hu Yun had just broken into the Fulfillment Realm. He was just about to begin condensing his True Soul and increasing his soul energy, so these two soul crystals were extremely beneficial to him.

“How many people are in the Xing Family? And how many key figures are in Gold Sun Island? How are its forces organized? Who holds the most power, and who should I avoid offending? Who…”

Like a repeating crossbow, Qin Lie fired off all of the questions on his mind in quick succession.

“I’ll answer all of your questions one by one,” Hu Yun said once Qin Lie finished.

“Island Master Xing Yumiao has a younger brother and sister. His brother is Xing Yuyuan and his sister is called Xing Shengnan. He has one son and one daughter. His son is Xing Xiao, and his daughter is Xing Yao. Second Island Master Xing Yuyuan has a son named Xing Fusheng, while Third Island Master Xing Shengnan… has yet to marry. They make up the immediate Xing Family.

“The three Xing siblings lead Gold Sun Island’s forces. Beneath them are the six enforcers, and below them are the various island envoys. Island envoys control the smaller islands in the vicinity of Gold Sun Island and follow the orders of the enforcers. Gold Sun Island currently has a total of thirty-two island envoys. I am one of them.

“The ones with the most power are the Xing siblings of course. The six enforcers come after them. Of the six enforcers, Xiang Xi holds a special status in Gold Sun Island because he used to be its leader when it was still a Black Iron rank force. However, after the Xing siblings joined Gold Sun Island, they used their formidable strength to slowly garner everyone’s respect, then quickly raised Gold Sun Island from a Black Iron rank force to a Copper rank force. As a result, Xiang Xi voluntarily gave up the position of island master and became an enforcer.

“As thanks for Xiang Xi’s noble action, the island master has always treated him with respect. Furthermore, he even told every member of the Xing Family to be respectful to him as well.

“That’s why Enforcer Xiang holds a special status within Gold Sun Island. The other five enforcers are much weaker than him. Of those five, Enforcer Guo and Enforcer Jing are martial practitioners from the Heavenly Calamity Continent that Island Master Yumiao invited to join Gold Sun Island. I heard that they had some kind of intimate relationship with the Xing Family in the past.

“As for the other three enforcers, they served Gold Sun Island before the coming of the Xing Family and are extremely loyal to Enforcer Xiang. Their loyalty to him even surpasses their loyalty to the island master…”

After obtaining the soul crystals, Hu Yun treated Qin Lie’s questions seriously, giving fully detailed answers. Only when he started speaking about the various enforcers did his voice gradually soften until he eventually stopped speaking.

Qin Lie quickly recovered his wits and realized that Hu Yun’s words addressed an important internal issue.

“Of the six enforcers, three of them revere Xiang Xi?” he asked. “Their loyalty to him surpasses their loyalty to the island master?”

Hu Yun laughed, then quietly whispered, “If you understand, then I’ve said enough.”

Qin Lie wanted to continue asking questions and figure out all of the details, but he discovered that Xing Yao had suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. She was walking toward him quickly, a cold expression on her face.

Seeing that the expression on Xing Yao’s face didn’t bode well, Hu Yun hurriedly stood up and left, saying, “I shall be on my way.”

The second she arrived in front of Qin Lie, Xing Yao’s eyes narrowed, and she sternly said, “I had some people investigate, but none of them found any information about any ships being destroyed in a recent storm!”

She had found Xing Wu earlier and explained the situation to him.

Xing Wu then investigated and told her that he hadn’t found any news about the wreckage of a ship appearing in nearby regions of the sea.

As a result, she believed that Qin Lie was lying.

“Your information could be incorrect,” Qin Lie replied casually, narrowing his eyes. His posture made it clear that he didn’t want to respond to her.

“I know you’re lying!” Xing Yao shouted, gnashing her teeth. Hatred filled her voice as she continued, “If you’re willing to simply disappear without a word, I will no longer question you or even pay you any mind. I… I’m even willing to give you some spirits stones. As long as you stop deceiving my aunt, I’m willing to take a loss and consider it my own misfortune!”

Qin Lie gave her a blank look.

“Do you agree?” Xing Yao shrieked.

“I truly am your uncle,” Qin Lie responded.

Xing Yao’s face suddenly filled with rage, murderous intent radiating from her as she stomped away shouting, “You’ll definitely die a horrible death!”

Qin Lie just stood there in a daze.

Once Xing Yao left, Hu Yun returned and asked, “What did the young miss say to you? She seemed incredibly angry.”

“She doesn’t trust me. She believes that I’m pretending to be a member of the Xing Family and is afraid that I’m deceiving her aunt,” Qin Lie said with a shake of his head, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. “Because of that, she keeps paying close attention to me.”

“She’s probably just afraid of third island master getting hurt again,” Hu Yun said in a low voice. “Five years ago, a young man like you arrived out of nowhere and claimed to be a member of the Xing Family. Third island master believed him and… treated him just like she’s currently treating you. She treated them like a little brother and told them everything about Gold Sun Island while giving him many precious things. Yet, in the end, that person suddenly attacked her out of nowhere and nearly killed her.

“Fortunately, thank the heavens, island master and second island master had long since seen through that man’s facade. They arranged for Enforcer Guo to constantly watch them from the shadows. When the man made his move, Enforcer Guo appeared in the nick of time and killed him on the spot.

“After that debacle, we confirmed that the man was a Pan Family spy that infiltrated us. Gold Sun Island and the Pan Family couldn’t help but come into conflict because of this, forcing Illusory Demon Sect to come forward as a mediator and calm both sides down. This matter left third island master depressed for quite a while. For the longest time, she wouldn’t come out of the shadows. She couldn’t believe that the “younger brother” she had cherished would suddenly try to kill her. It’s taken her a long time to recover from the shock.”

A complex expression came over Qin Lie as he asked, “She believed someone so easily?”

“Mn.” Hu Yun laughed bitterly and shook his head. “Come to think of it, it is quite strange. When it comes to other things, third island master isn’t so confused. Her talent is great, she treats people kindly and is smart when it comes to complicated matters. Yet… she’s been deceived so many times, and always in the exact same way. We caught three more enemy spies not too long ago. One of them also gained the trust of third island master by claiming he was a member of the Xing Family.

“How could this be?” Qin Lie exclaimed in confusion. He began to think that this situation was getting stranger and stranger.

“There’s a rumor…” Hu Yun paused. Then he lowered his voice and continued, “It’s rumored that third island master has a younger brother who was shot in the back with a poisoned arrow as they fled from the Heavenly Calamity Continent. It apparently pierced his heart and he died in the arms of third island master. She loved her little brother dearly, yet she had to watch him get shot and die in her arms… so she’s always kept that traumatic event suppressed deep within her heart. Whenever someone shows up and claims to be a member of the Xing Family, posing as her brother, she becomes extremely easy to fool. To put it plainly, third island master just doesn’t want to let go of her little brother’s memory. That is also the reason why she’s been hurt over and over again.”

At this moment, Qin Lie completely understood why Xing Shengnan trusted him so easily.

“I sincerely hope that you’re truly a member of the Xing Family and aren’t deceiving third island master, Young Master Lie,” Hu Yun said, his expression suddenly becoming incomparably solemn. “If you’re taking advantage of third island master, I swear that, no matter where you flee, I’ll find you and kill you!”

After he said this, Hu Yun turned and left.

Qin Lie furrowed his brow, his face gradually adopting a serious expression as he silently sat there on the floor of the training area.

With Hu Yun’s help, he finally understood why Xing Yao so desperately wanted to get rid of him despite the fact that she knew he was lying. She had treated him like some kind of disease she simply wanted gone. He understood why she was even willing to pay him spirit stones if he left quietly.

Xing Yao was afraid that Qin Lie would harm Xing Shengnan.

She was afraid that her aunt wouldn’t be able to withstand another blow to her heart.

……